Brompton Hall School believes that in order to enable effective teaching and learning to take place, good behaviour in all aspects of school life is necessary. We seek to create a caring, safe learning environment by:

Encouraging consistency of response to both positive and negative behaviour.

Promoting early intervention whenever possible.

Encouraging positive relationships throughout the school.

Encouraging respect for each other.

Encouraging respect for our school property and each others possessions.

The management of behaviour is a crucial and fundamental element of the work in a SEMH School. This policy sets out the guiding principles, structures and strategies employed by Brompton Hall School.

We aim to work from the basic principal of motivating pupils to make the right choices when managing their own behaviour, and within the structures employed by the school, attempt to reduce the need for adult intervention wherever possible in order to instil control in the individual. This should then equip pupils with the necessary skills and strategies required to succeed in mainstream environments.

Many pupils who come to Brompton Hall have had a poor experience of school generally and see little need to invest in their own education. Our aim is to ensure pupils education is a rewarding and meaningful experience where classrooms are well staffed, with good resources and are as stimulating as possible. We have a well-established reward system enabling students to gain worthwhile, tangible rewards therefore encouraging them to work to their very best ability.

Monitoring Behaviour

The entire day at Brompton Hall is monitored by staff and the behaviour of each student is recorded. This is done by breaking down the school day into 16 sessions including getting up in the morning, mealtimes, lessons, evening activities and settling down and bedtime. All sessions are scored by the supervising staff based on general guidelines but can be at staff’s discretion. Both class and unit log books are kept for this purpose. The points score operates on a weekly cycle from Friday to the following Thursday. Please see Appendix A-F for full details of the reward system.

Sanctions

Every effort is made to make the management of pupils motivational and positive. However, the school also employs a series of sanctions when behaviour has been unacceptable. Sanctions are usually best worked out on a case-by-case basis in response to the particular problem but in the interest of fairness set responses are also necessary.

In general, unacceptable behaviour or lack of effort in class will be met with detention after school to make up the missed work, or to complete some task as a form of restitution. In a similar way, poor behaviour on the residential unit or in activities could be sanctioned by a similar punishment. These detentions are supplemented by a series of other sanctions – poor behaviour in school breaks could mean that a number of breaks are lost, poor behaviour in a particular activity could mean that that activity option is withdrawn for a period of time. Pupils who cannot manage in their group may be withdrawn and asked to complete the tasks at a later time. A record of sanctions is maintained for both school and residential units using SIMS. Staff complete the record of incident and the sanction administered.

Pupils who are found to be fighting, or those who refuse to leave a situation which could be considered dangerous, causing harm to themselves or others may be physically separated or removed. This action would only take place after all other means have been exhausted or there is an immediate danger.

In situations of utmost seriousness fixed term exclusions may be considered, although this is seen more as a chance to enable the pupil to make a fresh start rather than a sanction in itself.

Individualised programmes and Personalised Learning

Some pupils do not respond as we may wish to the overall systems employed by the schools. This may be identified at annual reviews or interim reviews or may be brought onto the agenda of staff meetings because of immediate concerns. In these cases additional methods may be employed that involve programmes designed for an individual. Commonly such programmes will contain a series of clearly defined steps that will, if satisfactorily completed, result in a particular reward that the individual feels is particularly desirable. The steps will often involve shorter time periods than the school’s system and will be designed to offer a greater chance of success. These programmes will be managed by named people usually the key workers and the tutors.

Individual Placement Plans and Risk Assessments

The Governing Body of Brompton Hall School has decided to extend the use of individual risk assessments to all pupils. These are drawn up by the tutor and key worker for each pupil on an annual basis and are reviewed each half term. Additional specific behavioural risks are logged with appropriate strategies for staff. Amendments are made as and when necessary by the Key worker and any new information passed to all relevant staff.

As part of the admission process, parents/carers meet with the Headteacher to complete the initial placement plan. As part of this process any risks presented by the pupils are discussed and initial risk assessments and/or behaviour management plans are agreed upon.